Dont ComplyCourthouse News reports that a federal court in Minnesota granted a Nicaraguan citizen's motion for a preliminary injunction and ordered the government to return him to the United States from the Central African Republic, where ICE sent him in August. According to the outlet's summary of the ruling, the court found that ICE officers repeatedly ignored the man's withholding of removal order and his pending habeas case. The court also found that officers transferred him around the country and put him on a plane to Africa after shooting him with rubber bullets while he was restrained on a bus and pleading with agents. The court found the government likely had no authority to detain or deport him. The Courthouse News brief did not report a response from ICE or the government.
Why it matters
A federal court found the government likely lacked authority to detain or deport a man who held a withholding of removal order, and ordered him returned. The ruling raises questions about whether immigration officers complied with court-recognized protections and pending litigation.
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